Orc clans
Almost all orcs are members of an orc clan. These are as much political and economic entities as they are families. Clan members work, fight, and live together. Before coming to Orgheim, the orcs were united as part of the horde of Gorghast, the great orc hero. After Gorghast's death, and the breaking of the horde, the surviving orcs were forced to reorganize in order to keep up the fight. The Clans Clan Bloodtree When Gorghast died, and his people were scattered, it was his sister Urtha who took command of the largest portion of his host. Trapped behind the enemy line, her forces took up a defensive position atop a hill marked by a single withered tree. The dragons sent a formidable host of kobolds to surround and kill them, but Urtha and her people held. Her banner from that day forward was the tree atop the hill, watered by the blood of a thousand orcs. The hill, and the tree, lie at the center of the holdfast built by the Bloodtree clan. Clan Bloodroot An offshoot of Clan Bloodtree, these orcs settled in the lands below the steppes, near Nordheim. Clan Greyleaf An offshoot of Clan Bloodtree, these orcs settled in several abandoned cities in the Hedros mountain Range, left over from the world before the death of gods. Clan Blackbones Hrok was the War Caller of Gorghast when the great leader died. Hrok and a few warriors managed to escape the killing field with the body of their beloved leader, to burn it in accordance with orc custom. Instead of stoking the fire and letting it burn ‘til there was naught but ashes, Hrok called for water to extinguish the flames when the body was reduced to blackened bones. Each warrior was given a single bone from the body, and told that no matter where they went, the spirit of Gorghast would go with them. These warriors fought with renewed fury and vigor, and made great names for themselves in the war to secure Orgheim. Most of these bones have been lost, but a few remain as sacred relics of the Clan, and for many orcs across the lands. Clan Bluewind A small clan, but fierce. Founded by Gorghast’s wizard (whose name is long forgotten or was never even known), this band painted their faces in blue woad, sweeping across the plains to bedevil any stragglers or outliers of the kobolds’ armies. The wizard claimed the woad would carry with it the fury of the dead, and these warriors were known to fight with impossible fury, with stories of orcs fighting despite mortal wounds until the enemy was utterly destroyed. Their descendants are less savage but no less formidable in battle. Clan Stormcrows Founded by a small pack of orcs who, upon the scattering of Gorghast’s army, set out to find and reunite the orcs. Though the orcs were not truly reunited until after Urtha’s alliance with the humans of Alderheim, the Stormcrows quickly became an integral part of the orcs’ war effort, serving as scouts and messengers for the larger orc forces. In modernity, the Stormcrows breed some of the fastest horses in all of Balarai, and still serve as exceptional mercenary scouts and skirmishers, but more frequently as couriers. Clan Brokenwing Stormcrow orcs who settled in the heartlands of Orgheim. Some of the only orcs who raise cattle rather than goats/sheep. Founded by a Stormcrow orc who was thrown from his horse and broke both his legs. Brokenwing orcs train horses specifically for use by those who have lost the use of their legs. Clan Burningeyes A clan that closely guards its history, rumors abound about the Clan Burningeyes. Though control of arcane forces is a rare gift in the world today, Clan Burningeyes boasts a great number of those so blessed. According to the ‘secret’ history, rumors report, a band of orcs fleeing the battle that killed Gorghast came upon an ancient shrine to a dead god. The shrine was not abandoned however, and the entity which had taken up residence offered these orcs great power in exchange for servitude. Clan Whitestallion Clan Ustgar A small clan, the Ustgar were the orcs who defended the left flank of Gorghast’s army. When the rest of the army broke, the Ustgar held their ground. Aided by good terrain, these orcs remained in the fight for over an hour after the rout before the last of the Ustgar orcs were finally captured or surrendered. These orcs became prisoners until they were liberated by the Bluewind orcs. The Ustgar remained together, settling a town of the same name in the lands East of Orghiem, in the shadow of the Black Hills.